The Tempest facts for kids
The Tempest is one of William Shakespeare's last comedies. The story takes place on a magical island. A powerful magician named Prospero and his daughter, Miranda, live there.
They were forced to live on this island by Prospero's own brother, Antonio, and the King of Naples, Alonso. Prospero was the rightful Duke of Milan, but Antonio took his place. Prospero plans his revenge using his magic. He causes a big storm, making Alonso, Antonio, and their friends shipwrecked on the island. Many exciting things happen. In the end, most characters feel sorry for their past actions. Everyone then heads back to Milan, Italy, with the help of Prospero's spirit helper, Ariel.
Main Characters in The Tempest
- Prospero: He is the true Duke of Milan and a powerful magician.
- Miranda: Prospero's kind and curious daughter.
- Ariel: A magical spirit who serves Prospero. Ariel was once a slave of a witch named Sycorax.
- Caliban: A wild and unusual creature. He is also a slave to Prospero.
- Alonso: The King of Naples.
- Ferdinand: King Alonso's son. He falls in love with Miranda.
- Sebastian: King Alonso's brother.
- Antonio: Prospero's brother. He took Prospero's place as Duke of Milan.
- Gonzalo: An honest and helpful old advisor.
- Adrian and Francisco: Lords who are part of Alonso's group.
- Sycorax: A witch who used to live on the island. She is Caliban's mother and is no longer alive. She had enslaved spirits like Ariel before Prospero arrived.
Prospero cleverly brings Ferdinand and Miranda together, and they quickly fall in love.
The Tempest and Forbidden Planet
The 1956 science fiction film Forbidden Planet shares many ideas with The Tempest. Instead of an island, the movie is set on a faraway planet called Altair IV.
Professor Morbius, played by Walter Pidgeon, is like Prospero. His daughter, Altaira, played by Anne Francis, is like Miranda. Both Prospero and Morbius learn to control powerful forces on their new homes. Ariel is shown as the helpful Robbie the Robot in the film. The witch Sycorax is replaced by a very old and powerful alien race called the Krell. Caliban is represented by a dangerous, invisible "monster from the mind". This monster is created by Morbius's own thoughts and the Krell technology, not from a witch's magic.
Images for kids
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The shipwreck in Act I, Scene 1, from a 1797 engraving by Benjamin Smith after a painting by George Romney
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Prospero and Miranda from a painting by William Maw Egley; around 1850
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Miranda by John William Waterhouse
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A picture from Nicholas Rowe's 1709 book of Shakespeare's plays. It shows the start of the 1674 play version.
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Sylvester Jourdain's A Discovery of the Barmudas
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The first page of The Tempest, printed in the First Folio of 1623
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Ferdinand Lured by Ariel by John Everett Millais, 1850
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An oil sketch of Emma Hart, as Miranda, by George Romney
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A playbill (poster) for a 1757 show of The Tempest at the Drury Lane Theatre Royal
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Miranda and Ferdinand by Angelica Kauffman, 1782
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A drawing by Charles Buchel of Herbert Beerbohm Tree playing Caliban in a 1904 play.
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Caliban talks loudly to Prospero while Ariel watches. This is from a 2014 play by OVO theatre company in St Albans, UK.
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"Miranda" by Frederick Goodall, from the Graphic Gallery of Shakespeare's Heroines
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William Hogarth's painting of The Tempest from around 1735.
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Fyodor Paramonov as Caliban, Maly Theatre (Moscow), 1905
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See also
In Spanish: La tempestad (teatro) para niños
